


to be brave

by rikubraveheart



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, I like to call this the mlm wlw solidarity one-shot, Kairi is a brave girl y'all are just mean, Rikai friendship!, riku and kairi ACTUALLY talk, this happens the afternoon before the storm oops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:35:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25024030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rikubraveheart/pseuds/rikubraveheart
Summary: But that fear doesn’t make her weak. Not at all.“You aren’t weak. You’re probably the strongest one out of us three.”This makes her scoff. “Yeah, sure.”Before leaving on the raft, Riku and Kairi talk their feelings out. Riku realizes that he and Kairi may have more in common than he ever realized.
Relationships: Kairi & Riku (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 15





	to be brave

**Author's Note:**

> This one-shot is a gift for my wonderful friend [Meryl](https://twitter.com/Mewyl_Hereforne), who despite me telling her not to do it bought me not one, not two, but _three_ kofis.
> 
> People always say crap about Kairi, but I do genuinely think that one of her qualities is her bravery. Riku would probably be sure to make her remember that. Give us more rikai interactions nomura!
> 
> My Twitter: [@rikubraveheart](https://twitter.com/rikubraveheart)

It’s a sunny day, like most days in Destiny Islands, when they finish the raft that’s supposed to get them off the archipelago that’s starting to feel so much like a prison to Riku. He’s looking for Kairi to check some of the last plans (specifically the low amount of provisions they’re taking with them) when he bumps into Sora.

He’s scowling. “Still mad about having lost the race?” he teases him.

“Not really,” he replies. “I’m just gonna keep looking for some rope. Bye!”

He’s gone before Riku can ask what’s wrong. It’s not the first time Sora avoids talking about his problems, so he doesn’t think much of it and keeps looking for Kairi. Now not only to discuss the provisions, but because if something happened to Sora there’s a big chance Kairi knows what it is.

Riku finds her next to the finished raft, looking at the ocean with an absent expression. He already knew something was up, it was plain obvious after seeing Sora’s annoyed scowl when he had bumped into him earlier, but Kairi’s face is a lot more severe. He puts two and two together and gets to the conclusion that, if they’re both mad, they must’ve fought over something.

He debates if he should leave her be and let them sort out whatever argument they’ve had, but his legs are moving in her direction before he can decide against it.

“You okay?” This seems to startle Kairi, who jumps at the sound of his voice.

“Riku! Don’t sneak up on me like that,” she says. “And yes, I’m fine. Just a little bit tired.”

The way she crosses her arms and frowns after saying this makes it obvious that she isn’t telling the truth. 

“Tired of what? Sora and you have been slacking off all day, I swear,” he jokes. His little teasing doesn’t have the desired effect, though, and instead makes her frown deepen. “Hey, come on. Tell me what’s wrong.”

Riku isn’t good with feelings. He used to be, he thinks, but he hasn’t been for a while. Not with his own, or with anyone else’s. There’s this anger, jealousy of sorts, that’s been eating him away for the past year.

He tries to put those feelings aside for now, because it’s clear something’s bugging Kairi and he wants to help. He wonders if he’s just afraid of her letting her feelings become as twisted as his.

Kairi sighs, but she yields to Riku’s questioning. “I lashed out at Sora for the stupidest thing ever. I wanted to put some flowers on the raft to make it a little bit more personal, and then we argued about the colour… and I snapped at him.”

He’s snapped at Sora before, so he knows the feeling of guilt that comes with it. That’s why he also knows that most of the time when you lash out at someone (especially if that someone is  _ Sora _ ), the actual problem doesn’t lie in whatever the confrontation was about.

“So? What’s the actual problem?” he asks, bluntly. 

Kairi grabs the fabric of her skirt, clenching her fists. “Of course there’s no getting past you, is it?”

He waits for her to keep talking.

“It’s just… you two are so  _ strong, _ and  _ brave _ , and so sure of what you want and I’m… I feel like I’m just going along with what you want, like a weakling hiding behind your backs at all times. I feel like a silly little girl that doesn’t know her place dreaming too big.”

She lowers her gaze to the ground and blushes, embarrassed at her own words. Riku doesn’t say anything for a few seconds, trying to choose his next words carefully.

“That’s not true though.” So much for choosing his words with caution. Kairi looks up again abruptly. “Sora and I, we would have never thought of going out there if you hadn’t come to this island. You’re the whole reason we’re doing this and, most importantly, you’re our friend. You aren’t a silly little girl who doesn’t know her place, you’re a strong girl who knows what she  _ wants _ .”

He still remembers the day of the meteor shower, when he had met Kairi for the first time. That day, it was like all horizons widened to him. One single girl changed  _ everything _ and it had taken no effort for him and Sora to accept her as their friend. It had been a little bit more difficult for him, to break out of his shell and open up to someone that wasn’t Sora, but it had taken Kairi no longer than a week to break down his walls.

Other people gave up on becoming friends with him before they had even had the opportunity to see the real him, but Kairi had stubbornly kept talking to him until he had shown her who the real Riku was.

Even now, years later, when he’s starting to close up again, she’s still there. That’s why it’s so hard seeing that stubborn, decided girl doubt herself this much.

“Do I, though?”

“Last time I checked, you wanted to leave this island to find out where you came from,” he says, confused.

“I  _ do _ want to find out. But I’m afraid that I won’t be able to, that I’m too weak. Or that, even if I do find out, I won’t like the answer and it will make me question everything I’ve lived up until now,” she confesses.

Riku can see where she’s coming from. The unknown is a scary thing, even if it’s something he hasn’t feared since he was a kid, and it’s scary to think the answer you’ve been looking for all your life may be something painful.

But that fear doesn’t make her weak. Not at all.

“You aren’t weak. You’re probably the strongest one out of us three.” 

This makes her scoff. “Yeah, sure.”

“I’m serious. You came here, a completely new place, with no memories of who you were or where you came from, and you  _ still _ managed to find your place. Anyone in your situation would have given up, but you didn’t, and you kept fighting to make these islands your home until you succeeded. Hell, the very moment you arrived you were already trying to make friends with  _ me _ of all people. That takes a great deal of strength.”

“I couldn’t exactly give up on you when Sora kept preaching about what a cool person you were,” she jokes. She seems fine for a short moment, but the mood quickly turns somber again. “...You really think so?”

She sounds so small when she asks that question, like Riku is going to change his mind about her just because she has insecurities. “I do.”

“Even if I’m afraid of finally finding that answer I’ve always wanted?”

“ _ Especially _ because of that. Anyone would be afraid, in your place. The difference is that your fear isn’t stopping you from going forward and finding those answers you’ve craved for so many years.”

Kairi smiles, finally convinced. “Thanks, Riku,” she says. “You  _ are _ cool sometimes. Even if you’re lame more often than not.”

He gives her a playful shove. “I’m cool  _ all _ the time.” She laughs.

“Now I feel kinda bad about what I said to Sora before…” She whispers this so low Riku almost doesn’t hear it, so he decides to let it pass.

“Hey Riku, I made Sora a Wayfinder, would you want one too?” she asks out of the blue.

Riku is surprised, not because he didn’t know about Sora’s Wayfinder (which he did) but because he hadn’t expected Kairi to offer him one.

“I doubt you have time to make another one before we leave.”

“Don’t be silly! If we look for the shells right now, I can make it tomorrow. It’s not like we can leave immediately, anyway. I checked and… we may need some more food or we’ll probably starve.” She chuckles.

Riku agrees, suddenly remembering that, in fact, telling her about that was actually what he was there to do. 

He and Kairi walk along the shore, picking up the shells that look the best and discarding the ones that are broken. They laugh, and Riku wishes he got to spend more time with her like this. They always get so caught up in Sora they forget they can also spend time by themselves.

Soon enough, they’re gonna be leaving the islands, all three of them. A part of him feels like it’s not going to be enough, that a raft isn’t going to take them where he wants to go, to the other worlds he’s longed to see since he was a little kid.

His twisted thoughts are coming back to him, never staying away for too long, but luckily Sora appears before they can get far.

“Hey guys!” he exclaims from the distance.

Kairi turns to him. “Well, time to apologize.”

“Better to do that than to carry the guilt with you,” he says. And isn’t that a bit hypocritical, when he also has things he keeps tucked close to his heart.

Maybe one day he will be brave enough to speak those things aloud, just like Kairi had done. 

**Author's Note:**

> Once again, my Twitter is [@rikubraveheart](https://twitter.com/rikubraveheart). Also, go follow Meryl ([@Mewyl_Hereforne](https://twitter.com/Mewyl_Hereforne)) who has _amazing_ drawing skills. 
> 
> Many thank yous to Ally ([@kiphors](https://twitter.com/kiphors)) for being the best beta reader ever, as always!


End file.
